‘691 shops, new clinic’ — Oyo unveils rebuilt market 17 months after fire incident

Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo state, on Friday, unveiled the reconstructed Akesan market.

The market, said to have been in existence for 400 years, was razed in January 2020.

Many shops and properties were destroyed in the inferno following a delay in the arrival of fire services at the scene of the incident.

Makinde had taken responsibility for the incident, and promised to rebuild the market.

Seventeen months later, the governor announced that the market has been rebuilt with a number of developments — including 691 shops, a police post, clinic, two car parks, and a cold room.

Addressing the traders at the town hall in Akesan, Makinde said he had kept his promise and taken precaution “that should there be any fire, it will be quickly put out”.

“I was very pleased to commission the Akesan market this afternoon. Last year January when this market was razed down was a sad day for us in Oyo state, especially for the traders who lost properties in the fire. But we promised to rebuild it and today, we delivered on that promise,” Makinde said.

“The rebuilt Akesan market now contains: 528 lock-up shops, 163 open shops, three warehouses, one cold room, a police post, an administrative block, a clinic, two toilet blocks (one male and one female), two car parks (one inside and the other outside), and four fire hydrants at each complex.

“We do not pray for bad things to happen. But they say once beaten, twice shy. So, we have taken that precaution that should there be any fire, it will be quickly put out.

“We also have industrial boreholes and you can see that the roads have been properly networked and interlocked just as you expect to see in any modern market all over the world.”

He urged all the traders to take personal responsibility for the maintenance of the market.